Hi from County Clare, Ireland

Hi there, hope you are well.

It's been a while since I've done a blog. That's really because we've been on the road for near two weeks now and it gets a bit tricky with the kids and internet access. We're about half way through our UK round trip which takes in Ireland, Wales, the south of England, and parts of France on the way up and back, all over about four weeks. We're having a ball and have certainly covered a bit of ground. Right now we're at a B&B in County Clare, just under an hour south of Galway Bay. Today is a bit of a rest day, boy we need it.

Yesterday was a huge day, with a trip out to the Aran Islands and then the Cliffs of Moher, very impressive. It rained just about the whole time we were out on the islands but we had a great day anyway. As soon as we landed, this local guy, Marteen ( Irish for Martin) loaded a bunch of us onto a bus and drove around the island. He not only gave a us a real insight into the island, but cracked some very funny jokes, and sang a number of nice old Irish songs. I requested Danny Boy and sure enough he sang it to the whole bus. The rain stopped for the Cliffs of Moher later in the day and wow they did not disappoint, by far the best cliffs I've ever seen.

We love Ireland, the people are great, so helpful and friendly, and the country is beautiful. We've had good weather right up until yesterday really. Our first night on our big trip was in the Loire Valley where we stayed at a classic old mansion, and on the second night we stayed on the famous Mont St Michel, ... that I'd say will be one of the highlights of our whole time away from Australia. From there we took the overnight ferry from France to Ireland, two nights in historic Kilkenny, and then four nights at a B&B in beautiful Kenmare just near the Ring of Kerry in the South West.

On the way to Kenmare we visited Cobh in County Cork and visited the graves of my great, great grandparents, Joseph and Mary Glasson and where they used to live on Wolf Tone Street, chatted to a few of the locals there too which was really nice. From there we headed north to County Clare to arrive at this current B&B.

The day before yesterday we visited Galway Bay. They have the annual racing carnival on so the town was buzzing. We loved Galway Bay with its old Latin Quarter and all the water canals, and we visited the Renmore Barracks where my grandfather was born, very special.

I'll show you some of the pictures taken along the way starting from the most recent.....

Here we are yesterday on the way back from the Aran Islands feeling very relaxed. I had a Guinness just before we jumped on the boat, it's daily doses of the stuff these days, as they say....when in Rome..

Another photo on the boat, as you can see I've bought myself an Irish footy jersey,..... love this place!

Below is a photo looking along the cliffs on the Aran Islands...

At around this point I decided to test my fear of heights and take a photo with my iphone looking straight down, that's the tip of my shoe you can see in the corner of the photo........I made sure there wasn't any strange looking people nearby, in full control don't worry

 

 

 

Here's Connor and I in front of the Renmore Barracks just outside of Galway city. This was where my grandfather was born. As you can see from the signs, and the look on the entrance guard I chatted to, I wasn't going  to venture too much further....

Here we are on a car ferry crossing the Shannon on the way from Kenmare to our current place near Galway Bay......

This was an amazing spot, on the Connor Pass travelling over the mountains from Dingle. The scenery we have seen on our trip in Ireland has been amazing. This includes the Ring of Kerry which is about as far as you can go west in Ireland. By the way, that's a sheep hanging off the side of that really, really steep mountain slope. Why they just don't fall off every so often, it's got me stumped, ... they probably do!  

 

Below was the view from the B&B we stayed at in Kenmare. We'll have great memories of this little town and the lovely owners of this B&B. The brother of Anne, the owner, ....Billy was his name, invited us to his place which was right down on the river. It was an absolute mansion. The day before we came across this same house and Jane was wondering whether it was Bono's holiday house. Billy is self made, that was his holiday house and he lived in New York, he was a great guy, really friendly and down to earth.    

 

 

 

And here is a picture of Billy, the kids and I down at his place on the river..

 

 

 

 

Below is the kids and I at the graves of my great, great grandparents, Joseph and Mary Glasson in the Old Church Cemetery on the outskirts of Cobh. Mary died when she was just 25 years old. Very proud to have these Irish roots and it's great to be able to pay our respects while over here. A big thank you to Christine Henry, my mum's cousin, for her help in finding these places.

 



 

 

Below is a photo of the kids playing outside the house (the green one) on Wolf Tone Street in Cobh where Joseph and Mary lived. That's the harbor you can see from down the end of the street. Cobh reminded me of Sydney with it sitting on the edge of a beautiful big harbor. It was actually where the Titanic had its last stop before heading on that fatal journey across the Atlantic.

 

 

Below was taken in the very first pub we visited in Ireland. It was in Kilkenney, and that's me tasting my first beer, of course it had to be a Kilkenney. It was an important and memorable moment, a moment I have looked forward to for years.  

 

 

Here is Sophie at the bar in the same pub, not a practice I will be encouraging at all, but as I was saying, a special day.

 

Here are the kids walking by the side of Kilkenney Castle. There are castles everywhere in this country, much more than France I'd say.

Now for Mont St Michel, on the way up through France. Again, wow, this place is amazing. It was a fortified abbey and at one stage during the wars the English had conquered all of the north and west of France except this little island just off the coast of Normandy. Here is a photo on an approaching road, across some fields from I'd say about 15kms away.  

 

 



Here we are much closer...

 

 

We stayed on the island for the night, which very special. Below is us at dinner, during which a big storm hit with a few of the patrons and us concerned that the windows were going to blow in, a memorable dinner.  

 

 

Below was the view from one of our windows on Mont St Michel, looking out over the mud flats towards the main land. When the tide comes in it's a sight to see, it comes in real quick. They have police there telling people (including me on this day) to get off the surrounding mud flats just before the tide comes in as it can be very dangerous. I walked around the island when the tide was out, something I've dreamt about doing for years.

 

 

 

 

 

This is where we stayed in the Loire Valley. That window in the top left hand side was our room. The Loire Valley has this certain class about it, lovely area, grand buildings and vineyards everywhere. I really have to pinch myself when we stay in a place like this, I keep reminding myself, ...... treasure each day!

 

 





Heading to Dublin tomorrow, should a be a big weekend.  

 

Bye for now and best wishes, cheers (with a pint of Guinness in my right hand),

Jane, Sophie, Connor and me!